


red city

by katyaaacapaldi



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race (US) RPF
Genre: Future Fic, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-15 23:42:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28697157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katyaaacapaldi/pseuds/katyaaacapaldi
Summary: 2165. a country thriving with freedom before it was taken over control by perilous leaders who took away those who disobeyed their laws. they were never seen again.they were known as "the fallen"; the only people who remembered them were those left behind.there are those who want change. they need change. and they'll do anything to get it. even if they get killed for it.one by one jaida's closest friends and family disappeared. the strange thing about this? they hadn't done anything wrong.jaida and her remaining friends must fight to find them and get them back, no matter the cost. even whilst jaida is trying to fight her way through conflicting feelings of love.
Relationships: Brita Filter/Aiden Zhane, Heidi N Closet/Jaida Essence Hall, Jackie Cox/Jan Sport, Sutan Amrull | Raja/Manila Luzon
Comments: 10
Kudos: 11





	1. disappearances

**Author's Note:**

> a dystopian style fic i came up with a while ago! this is being crossposted from my wattpad, which has more of my writing on too! i hope you enjoy :)

It was the same day as usual. The hazy red skies never left the city, swamping every building and human being around. It was nearly impossible to see more than 15 feet away from you, with civilians constantly bumping into eachother during the day. At night no one was around. Apart from them. The Catchers. If they caught anyone roaming the streets after 10pm exactly then they'd be taken for investigation- why were they out, any previous history etc. Three strikes. Three strikes then you were "out". Then you were gone for good.

The strikes themselves were marked on the back of everyone's dominant hand. They determined how well you were treated by The Catchers and the government officials. If, like Jaida, you still had all three strikes then you were treated the best. You got given the most respect by others and you were seen as 'higher quality' than the others. However if you only had one then you were seen as scum of the earth. An example of this? Katya. 

The last person to be taken was a young girl by the name of Yvie. She vanished a few months before. She'd been incredibly rebellious but also smart. It was the smartness that was the problem. Too smart for them. Too outspoken, always pushing the limit. 

Jaida missed Yvie. They'd always been close- most of those in the city were. But she admired the woman for her nerve that not many other people had. Everyone else was too scared of the consequences. No one spoke out over the government. 

It was still slightly odd all the same. She hadn't done anything too bad leading up to her disappearance as far as Jaida could remember. The day before she'd gone, they'd been together walking around their "town." Yvie's last words she'd said to Jaida still haunted Jaida at night when she was alone. 

"If anything ever happens, keep fighting yeah?" Yvie had turned to Jaida as they stood near a half withered tree. "Promise?"

"I promise, honestly." These words sent a chill down Jaida's back now. A strange, warm but cold feeling in her heart. 

"Jaida?" She was taken out of her thoughts and turned to see Nicolette, or Nicky, in the doorway. Nicky had her long ashy blonde hair falling loosely down her back, her waist cinched in tightly and wrists covered in glittering bracelets. She'd have to take them off when she went outside of course, tie her hair back up and put on the loose dark blue dress everyone else wore. No one could look different. They had to look exactly the same.

"Yeah?" Jaida smiled tightly at her friend (and the person she shared her house with).

"Heidi wanted to see you. She's downstairs now." Nicky grinned, seeing Jaida blush slightly. She found Jaida's liking for Heidi hilarious. It'd been going on for a few years now, with Nicky teasing Jaida mercilessly over it often. "Better get ready for your girlfriend." Cackling she quickly darted out of the room, Jaida's shoe being thrown at her retreating back. 

Once she'd thrown some respectable clothes on she checked herself in the broken mirror that stood in her bedroom before running downstairs. Turning the corner she saw Heidi stood in the living room with Nicky. The pair of them were talking quietly but as soon as Jaida walked in the smaller woman yelled and rushed over to Jaida, almost knocking her over with the strength of her hug. 

"Thank God you're here! I thought you wouldn't be by now!" Heidi's voice was muffled in Jaida's shoulder, as she stood on tiptoes in an attempt to reach her height. Jaida froze slightly as she realised what Heidi meant.

"Hey hey, how come?" Jaida pulled herself away from Heidi, looking down at her. 

"Katya's gone. Haven't you heard?" Heidi sniffed. "Rock went to look for her earlier but she wasn't there- her whole room has been stripped bare apparently." Heidi's lip wobbled a bit. "I-I thought they would've gotten you too.." Jaida noticed the smaller woman looked as though she was about to cry so she pulled her into another hug again. 

"I'm not going Heids." Jaida said soothingly, rubbing her back gently. "I promise you okay?" She looked over her shoulder at Nicky who nodded slightly and walked out past them, squeezing Heidi's shoulder as she went past. 

"I know." Heidi mumbled. "It's just a bit scary I guess." 

"And that's completely fine." Jaida replied softly. "That's completely understandable okay?" She felt Heidi nod and smiled slightly. "How's Jackie? Have you heard from her?" Jaida said as she quickly changes the subject- she could deal with a lot of things but not that. 

"Yeah, she's good!" Heidi grinned as she stepped back, sitting down on one of the many wooden chairs that were scattered around the room that Nicky had picked up at some point over the past few years. "She's moved in with Brita I think now, to get away from Jan for a little while." 

"Oh? How come?" Jaida frowned, sitting down too and leaning back in her chair. "They fell out or?" 

"Something like that." She shrugged. "It'll blow over soon though. They always sort things out." 

They talked about various topics for a short while before Heidi glanced at the clock, squeaked and jumped up. 

"Shit I'm going to be late!" Leaning over she quickly hugged Jaida. "I'll see you soon, be safe okay?" 

"I promise! Don't worry about me!" Jaida rolled her eyes playfully and watched Heidi run out with a grin. 

By the time night fell at 7pm, Jaida found her thoughts drifting back to where those who'd been taken had gone. No one knew where they were- how could they? They could be alive, dead or hovering on the brink of either. 

Aside from one person. 

Raja. 

She'd been taken around 6 years ago but had been released due to being falsely accused of a crime someone else had done. Since she'd come back however, no one had heard from her. She'd locked herself up in her own home and refused to talk to anyone else besides three or four of her closest friends. 

Jaida has seen her walking around once, whilst she was outside with Heidi and Nicky only last year. The woman's hair was light grey and fell down her back just like Nicky's did, which made her distinguishable from everyone else (as no one else had grey hair aside from Max, one of Katya's friends). She'd walked past the trio when she was talking to someone, her voice being heard by Jaida only faintly. Her words couldn't be made out as she spoke quietly, but her voice seemed to be low and calming. As Jaida walked away she had glanced back and seen Raja looking at her with a strangled expression on her face. She'd nudged Nicky urgently to let her know but when the French woman had turned around Raja and her friend had gone. 

Letting out a small sigh, Jaida turned around to her bed and sat down. Nicky was downstairs but she didn't have the energy to get up again and go talk to her. Instead she reached across to her dresser and picked up her phone, scrolling to find Jackie's contact. 

'Hey are you and Jan okay? Heidi said something earlier about you two❤️' She sent the text to Jackie and put her phone back down on the bed. A few minutes later she saw the light on her phone flashing so she switched it on and glanced at the text that had just come through. 

'not seen her today but im sure she's fine.' The text read. 

"I can't with this..." Jaida groaned as she clicked on the call icon to phone her friend. The phone rang for a few seconds before Jackie picked up. 

"Hi what's up?" Jackie said. Jaida could hear the weariness in her voice. 

"What's happened with y'all?" She sighed, now lying back on the bed. "Heids mentioned you and Jan earlier-" Before she could carry on, Jackie quickly cut her off. 

"It's nothing. It was a silly argument and we're apart for a while. That's all. I'm with Brita for now anyways, and she's gone with Lemon or whoever that citrus woman is." There was a crash in the background. "Oh hi Brita, I'm talking to Jaida." 

"Hi Jaida!" Brita called out loudly. "Sorry, I'll text you soon girl! I'm a bit tied up!" There was a beeping noise and Jaida could hear the door slam shut. 

"She's broken something again." Jackie's almost disapproving tone could be heard clearly across the phone. The older woman was incredibly sweet and smart, yet she could get funny over the little things people did. 

"Alright." Jaida frowned slightly then realised Jackie couldn't see her facial expressions. "Look, I'm here if you need me at any point okay? I promise." 

"Yeah yeah I know, thank you." There was a small pause. "Did you hear about Nicky?" Jaida was confused. What about her? 

"She hadn't said anything, what's happened?" 

"She's on her last strike apparently- Geege told me earlier." Jackie sighed softly. "I do wonder with her sometimes Jaida, I really do." 

"Mhm..." Jaida hummed in response. "I'll speak to you tomorrow, I'll see what this is about. Love you." 

"Love you too!" The phone clicked off, leaving Jaida alone in her soundless room. She sat up and rubbed a hand over her forehead, rethinking what Jackie had just said to her about Nicky. She hadn't mentioned it earlier- not even Heidi had! 

"Nicky!" Jaida yelled. "Can you come here?" There was a disgruntled groan and Nicky walked in a minute later, paint splattered all over her hands and arms. 

"What is it? I'm in the middle of something!" 

"How many strikes have you got?" Jaida noticed that she curled in on herself at the question, her left arm now covering her right. 

"Two." Nicky said quickly. "Can I go now?" 

"No, you have one left don't you?" Jaida stood up. "Jackie told me. What did you do? Is this why you weren't here last night?" 

"Stop asking! I was seeing someone, it's all fine now, I'll be fine! Honestly you-" Nicky huffed loudly and walked out, the noise of her door being shut ringing through the house. 

Silence once more. 

The next morning the house was still silent. When Jaida got up and peeked into Nicky's room, she found that her friend wasn't there. Putting her hand on the duvet, it still felt warm- she can't have been gone for long then. There was no point in trying to phone her; Jaida knew from experience that Nicky wouldn't pick up even if she tried phoning her countless times. Instead she walked back to bed and laid down, staring up at the dull ceiling above her. 

A few hours later (around midday) she heard the door open slowly, the sound of heels clicking against the wooden floorboards downstairs. The stairs creaked quietly and Jaida was able to hear Nicky's light breathing as she walked past her bedroom. Jaida went to stand up and see where she'd been, but she decided against it. It wasn't her business to know where she'd been. And besides, Nicky had never questioned Jaida whenever she'd gone off for a few hours during the day. She left it alone. Perhaps it was best for Jaida to then do the same too. 

Then there was a knock at the door. Sighing internally Jaida stood up and hurried downstairs, opening the door to see a woman stood on the doorstep. She had curly, almost white hair which cut off at her shoulders, piercing eyes and sharp fingernails which looked as though they could cut through steel. She had a short black dress on, with thigh high boots.

"Who are you?" Jaida questioned her, looking the woman up and down.

"Dahlia. Can I come in?" Before Jaida could answer, Dahlia nodded and stepped into the house. "Nice place. Small but nice you know?" She was silent for a moment, looking around. Then her eyes settled on Jaida again. "Does Nicky live here?"

"Yep. Why?"

"I think her and I need to have a little talk about something."


	2. chapter 2- lies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter two is here! thank you for the support on the first chapter, it really means the world and i hope you keep enjoying the fic! constructive criticism of any kind would be appreciated too! <3

She wasn't allowed in. 

Jaida had to stand outside their kitchen, pressing a purple plastic cup she'd had in her bedroom from a few ways ago (when Nicky had got into a weird cleaning spree so Jaida shut herself in there for over 12 hours) against the wall in order to hear whatever was being said by either Dahlia or Nicky. The door had been slammed in her face by Dahlia when she'd pulled Nicky into the room, the taller woman's usual calm appearance seeming to crack slightly as she looked back at Jaida. 

"..You're being reckless here Doll! I'm surprised she didn't question you more than she did!" Jaida squeaked quietly as she pressed the cup harder against the wall. Dahlia was clearly annoyed as she'd raised her voice, as this was the first time she'd been heard clearly." You can't keep skirting around, almost getting caught!"

"Don't be stupid!" Nicky seemed to scoff- Jaida could almost hear her rolling her eyes in annoyance, like she frequently did. "She wouldn't be able to tell the difference if I went off for a week." A scraping of chairs could be heard and Jaida quickly scrambled up the stairs, far enough that she could still hear whatever they were saying without being seen. 

"Look." Jaida heard Dahlia's voice soften slightly, watching her take hold on Nicky's hand. "I'm serious, you really need to be careful this time. We can't lose you." 

"I know. I'm sorry, honestly." Nicky appeared to squeeze her hand before walking her to the door, opening it. "I'll see you soon." 

"Yeah, take care." Dahlia smiled before walking out.

"You too!" Nicky shut the door and turned around to see Jaida now walking down the stairs-cup in hand. It appeared that Nicky tensed up, especially when she opened her mouth. "Jaida, hi. You okay?" 

"Yep!" Jaida smiled as she walked down past Nicky and into the kitchen. "Everything okay with uh.. Dahlia isn't it?" Walking to the kitchen sink she heard Nicky's soft footsteps follow behind her. 

"Yep! Nothing to be concerned about-Just some work things." 

Work things. 

That's what Nicky always said whenever someone came round that Jaida knew nothing about. She'd never found out what Nicky's job was. It'd not been discussed- Jaida went out every other day to work at the supermarket, Nicky just went off what felt like randomly. Really, it did follow a pattern. Every other week she'd go somewhere, or someone would come to the house. 

She recognised everyone that came- Farrah, Brooke, Morgan. Jaida talked to them when they did, they were friendly towards her and she reciprocated that. 

But she didn't know Dahlia. 

Well actually that was a lie. 

She'd heard of Dahlia from Jackie before. 

How she was able to hurt someone with a simple remark verbally, or a flick of her wrist physically. 

Dahlia was different. And it showed. 

"Ah yeah okay." Jaida said, walking over to the sink. "Is she uh.. New around here?" 

"Non, she's just looking for some people that's all." Nicky replied shortly. "I'm going to do some more writing, so I'll see you soon." And with that Nicky exited the room and went upstairs into her bedroom. 

Once she'd gotten there she slammed the door shut, leaning against it and rubbing her temple with her fingertips. God this was stressful. 

Jaida set the cup down in the sink and followed her up the stairs, instead going into her own room. Wandering over to the burgundy desk in the corner of the room, she picked up her phone and was just about to tap on Jackie's contact to phone when an incoming call came through from her. 

"Hello?" Jaida said, sitting down on the wooden chair. 

"Jan's gone." Jackie's voice rang through into the room, high pitched and shakey. "S-She isn't here!" 

"Are you serious?!" Jaida gasped. "There must be a mistake, she might've gone somewhere to cool off-" 

"I've looked everywhere she goes, Jaida! The park, the right hand side of the river near the fence, her house, not even Lemon's house where she was supposed to fucking be." Suddenly she heard footsteps and Jaida turned around in her seat to see Nicky in the doorway. 

"What's happened? Is that Jackie?" Nicky sounded concerned. 

"She's.. She's gone." Jaida mentally noted Nicky's horrified expression and paleness that painted her face. "How many strikes was she on Jacks?" 

"She had 3." Jackie's breathing was unsteady, Jaida could tell. 

"She-She might just have gone to see someone." Before she could go further, Jackie cut her off. 

"She went to see Aiden. She told Lemon right before she left earlier. That little fucking snake..." Jackie's tone of voice changed drastically. "I have to go see her now." Jaida heard the sound of a chair scraping and Jackie standing up. 

"Wait I'll come with, are you still at Brita's?"

"Mhm." Jackie hung up. Jaida turned back around to see Nicky still stood in the doorway. 

"J-Jan's gone?" Nicky stammered. "Are you serious?" 

"Yeah..." Jaida sighed. "I'm going to go with Jackie to find this Aiden or whoever she is." 

"Hold on- Aiden?" Nicky frowned, stepping forward. "What does she have to do with this?" Jaida shrugged as she walked over to her wardrobe and shrugged on one of her many navy blue coats that she owned. 

"I don't know. Do you know her?" She turned around and sat down on her bed, sliding on her black leather boots.

Nicky snorted. "She's weird. Really really weird. Anyway have fun, and whatever you do don't let her get in your head. Just some advice from prior experience." Nicky winked and walked out again back to her room, where the sound of music started playing only a few moments later. Jaida sighed quietly, slipped her phone in her pocket and went downstairs. Nicky was confusing when she said crap like that- however she was rarely ever wrong. 

As Jaida walked out of the house and down the road to Brita's house, she noticed that everything seemed darker than usual around her, especially for midday. She could see less than usual and was struggling to walk in the right direction. Then she bumped directly into someone. 

"Oh my god I'm so sorry!" Jaida looked at the person she'd walked in to, who was staring at her. It dawned on her that this was one of Raja'a friends- the one she'd seen when she saw Raja not too long ago. 

"Jaida isn't it?" The woman frowned. Jaida nodded slowly and her face cleared. "Ah I thought it was! Apologies for walking into you, completely an error on my part." She held out her hand, now smiling. "I'm Delta." 

"Nice to meet you Delta.." Jaida shook her hand. "How did you know my name exactly?" 

"Oh, Raja mentioned your name the other day! I'm presuming you know about her, everyone else seems to." Delta'a face fell slightly. "Anyway nice to meet you! I hope I'll see you again soon!" Delta smiled again and let go of her hand, wandering off. 

Jaida continued on her way to Brita's place, a lot of thoughts whirling around in her head. Why had Raja been talking about her? She'd never had a conversation with her, at least she couldn't remember any. 

Once she'd arrived she knocked on the door, waiting for someone to come and open it. It was Brita that tentatively opened the door after a few minutes, smiling slightly when she saw Jaida. 

"Hey sis- Jackie's inside." She stepped aside and let Jaida on before shutting the door behind her. "How have you and Nicky been? I haven't seen you guys for ages." 

"Yeah we've been good, you?" Jaida hummed as she followed Brita down the hallway. 

"Yep- little stressful juggling this shit with Jackie and Jan but it happens." She stopped and looked at Jaida. "Just be wary, she's quite freaked out by all this." 

"I know." Jaida nodded before opening the living room door. "Jackie?" 

Jackie herself was sat on the sofa, her undereyes blotchy due to her tears, her nose a dark shade of pink and her messy hair. Usually she looked perfect, with nothing ever out of plase. Looking up at Jaida, she got up and walked over, hugging the other woman. 

"Hi." Jackie mumbled, burying her face in Jaida's shoulder. She could feel Jackie shaking slightly and hugged her tighter before stepping back. 

"I'm sure she's okay Jackie." Jaida spoke lowly, looking directly into her eyes. "She's probably taking time out." 

"But what if-" 

"Don't think about the what ifs." Jaida said sharply. "Let's go find this Aiden, wherever she is." 

The three of them headed back out down the roads, looking for where Aiden lived. Brita apparently knew, so she lead the way. 

They ended up in a more secluded area, somewhere where Jaida didn't even recognise. Walking confidently up to the door, Brita knocked. Then waited.

Then it opened.

Presumably Aiden stood there. She had cropped black hair, was quite slim and had piercing eyes. The type that would destroy you if you looked too closely into them.

"Brita? What do you want?" She frowned, casting an eye over Jackie and Jaida. "Who are they?"

"We just need to talk about some things." Brita smiled. "We won't keep you from your work, I promise." Aiden nodded silently and let them inside, gently shutting the door.

The first thing Jaida noticed was the fact that it was dark in the house. Incredibly dark. She could barely make out where she was going as she followed the others down the hallway. Once they'd gotten into what she presumed to be Aiden's living room, she gasped quietly.

Books. Heavy, large books were scattered around the room, with golden italic writing across the top of them.

"You have a lot of stuff here!" Jackie said, momentarily distracted. "Witchcraft I presume?"

"Yep." Aiden smiled at Jackie. "Five years now."

"Wait are you serious?" For the first time Jaida noticed that Aiden's clothing was different to everyone else's- a black dress with a deep red corset.

"Yeah." Aiden's eyes turned to Jaida, seemingly noticing her properly for the first time. "I get free pass from the government for it I guess."

"Oh? Is that so?" Jackie sat down and kept her eyes on Aiden. "So you're able to go out whenever you want? At night?"

"Yeah, how come?" Aiden frowned.

"One of our friends-" Brita glanced at Jackie quickly. "Well, Jackie's partner has gone missing and we were wondering if you knew where she might be."

"No- What does she look like?" Jackie pulled out her phone and scrolled through her camera roll for a few seconds, before handing the phone to Aiden. Aiden hummed softly, studying the picture. "Nope. Never seen her, no clue who she is at all."

"Liar." Jackie said slowly. "You know who she is- she came to see you!"

"Jackie, breathe for a second." Jaida put her hand on her shoulder before Jackie shrugged it off angrily.

"No I'm not gonna fucking breathe!" Jackie stood up, walking over to Aiden. "You did something to her, I can tell."

"I haven't done anything. If you're going to act in that way I'll be asking you to leave." Aiden replied coolly.

Brita sighed. "Come on Jackie, she wouldn't do that!"

"H-How would you know?!" Jackie hissed. "She's probably done something with the magic shit she does to her!" She let out a squeak and Aiden leaned forward and shoved her into a wall, clamping a hand around her throat.

"Don't you dare insult me and what I do." Aiden whispered. "I didn't touch her. I've never seen her and if I did I wouldn't lie about it."

"I don't believe you." Jackie said hoarsely. "Y-You know what? I bet you killed her with your witchcraft."

"That's it!" Aiden dug her nails in more, starting to draw crimson blood from Jackie. "I'll kill you then, if that's what you think I did to Jan." 

Then there was a knock. 

Another knock. 

"Aiden?" Jaida looked up. "Are you there?" Looking across at Aiden she saw her quickly let go of Jackie and run out, opening the door. 

"O-Oh hi Raja!" 

"Raja?!" Brita stared at both Jaida and Jackie. "Are you fucking serious right now!" 

"Hi, can I come in?" There was an indistinguishable murmur from Aiden and Raja walked into the room and looked at the trio. "Well well well. What do we have here then, hm?"


End file.
